Wounded Knee, South Dakota

Wounded Knee, South Dakota was the site of the Battle at Wounded Knee Creek, later referred to as the Massacre at Wounded Knee. The event took place in 1890 in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

The basis of the last armed conflict between American soldiers and the Lakota involved the refusal of the Lakota to give up the tribes' land in the Black Hills to accommodate the whites. The government relegated the tribes to five reservations and eventually took away what few rights the Indians still possessed. The rights included government supplied rations which were cut by 50% in order to "persuade" the Indians to give up the land.

The Massacre began with an order to remove the Lakota from their land, peacefully, or if necessary, through force. There was a meeting between soldiers and the Lakota. The soldiers were ordered to disarm the Lakota...